Michigan and Virginia Commonwealth hope to wreak havoc on each other

By Drew Ellis, Journal Register Newspapers

Friday, March 22, 2013

AUBURN HILLS – It all comes down to Michigan wreaking havoc on the havoc Virginia Commonwealth is known for.

That is the storyline for Saturday’s NCAA tournament third round game at The Palace of Auburn Hills when the Wolverines (27-7) battle the Crusaders (27-8) at 12:15 p.m. The question is, who will wreak the most havoc?

VCU’s prides itself on its full-court press defense that it describes as “havoc.” The Crusaders lead the nation in turnovers forced, averaging just under 20 per game.

Conversely, Michigan is committing the fewest turnovers per game in the country at 9.2 per contest and the Wolverines have one of the best ball handlers in the nation in Trey Burke.

“I think it’s a great test for our guys, and you know, we’ve played against some terrific guards over the course of this year, but Trey Burke is as good, or better, than any of them,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said. “It’s a great challenge.”

Those unfamiliar with what VCU does got a wake-up call on Thursday when the Rams forced Akron into 21 turnovers as part of a dominant 88-42 victory in their tournament opener.

The Rams will apply full-court defensive pressure from the start of the game and also look to trap the ball handler, which puts the target on Burke for Saturday’s game.

“The challenge is just playing patient, really,” Burke said of how Michigan can avoid turnovers against VCU. “We haven’t played a lot of teams in the Big Ten that press the way that they do. So we just have to play patient, play smart, and limit turnovers.”

Michigan coach John Beilein echoed Burke’s thoughts on not having seen a defense like VCU’s throughout Big Ten play.

“We have not seen (a defense like VCU) very many times, maybe with Arkansas earlier in the year, and a little bit…. I don’t know if we’ve seen any in the Big Ten, we have not seen this type of defense since back in December,” Beilein said. “So it does take a minute (to get accustomed to it) and that’s why it can be so effective. In a minute, you can be down 10-0.”

While Michigan knows it will be challenged by the press, Smart knows that the Rams will be challenged in trying to shake the Wolverines up.

“Well, I think their system is one that emphasizes spacing. So they always have terrific spacing on the floor,” Smart said of why Michigan is good at avoiding turnovers. “But more so than that, it’s about their personnel. They’ve got great guards. Trey Burke is, you know, a lot of people’s pick for National Player of the Year. I haven’t seen a guard better than him. But not only do they have Trey Burke, but they’ve got several other guards that are very savvy, very poised with the basketball, and they’re guys that don’t make a lot of mistakes and are hard to speed up.”

If the Wolverines are able to stay poised and crack the defensive code of VCU, it could open the door for a lot of high-percentage shots and transition baskets.

In the last six losses for the Rams, opponents have shot at least 45 percent from the field in each contest. In five of the six wins, opponents shot 47 percent or better.

“There’s no doubt that you’re putting yourself at risk sometimes for teams to break the press and get opportunities on the other end,” Smart said. “But, you know, with what we do, hopefully the reward outweighs the risk.”

Michigan is coming off an impressive shooting performance against South Dakota State, as the Wolverines were 28 of 55 from the floor (50.9 percent) and 9 of 20 from 3-point land (45 percent).

To go along with the hot shooting, Michigan defended the perimeter well, as South Dakota State was just 4 of 19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point land.

Despite the offensive output, Burke was held to just six points on 2 of 12 shooting. It was his lowest point total of the season. To make matters worse, Burke took a hard fall on his back during the win over the Jackrabbits and was forced to leave the game for a short period of time.

“I feel pretty good. Obviously my back is a little sore,” Burke said. “I did a lot of treatment and recovery for it (Thursday), but for the most part I feel okay.”

Not much is being made the matchup between VCU’s offense and Michigan’s defense in Saturday’s meeting, but the Wolverines will have their hands full with the Rams on that end as well. VCU was 35 of 65 (53.8 percent) from the floor against Akron and shot 8 of 16 (50 percent) from 3-point land.

“That’s going to be difficult. Their quickness is incredible, how quick they can get to the rim,” Beilein said of the VCU offense. “They get downhill as good as any team that we’ve seen. They do have a nice compliment of inside/outside game.”

The Rams have four players that average double figures in scoring and two others that score an average of seven points per game. Sophomore guard Treveon Graham leads the team with 15.2 points per game, but senior guard Troy Daniels has hit 123 3-pointers on the season. Daniels made six from beyond the arc in Thursday’s win over Akron.

“I think I’ve had one – with all the shooters we’ve had (coaching) at Richmond, Canisius, West Virginia and here, I’ve only had one player ever have 100 threes in a year,” Beilein said of Daniels. “That young man, (Daniels), with 119 threes, that’s astronomical to have that.”